Hitherto, as a warming device for warming part of the body, a body warmer for heating the body by using the heat obtained from chemical reaction of iron oxide powder is common. It is designed to be adhered easily to any position by using an adhesive, and it is easy and inexpensive. Thus, it is widely used.
As disclosed in JP Laid-open Utility Model No. 49-108290, a warming cloth incorporating an electric heater inside is worn at an arbitrary position of the body, and it is heated by a battery or other power source. The power source is not limited to battery, and a commercial power source may also be used.
As an example of warming part of the body by using the heat obtained by catalytic combustion of liquefied petroleum gas, an application in a foot warmer as disclosed in JP Laid-open Utility Model No. 50-8039 is known.
Moreover, EP No. 0803206 discloses a means of warming the body by attaching a catalytic combustion heating device making use of liquefied petroleum gas to the clothes.
In such conventional warming devices, in the case of making use of a chemical reaction, since there is no temperature control means, it is hard to warm the body comfortably at an arbitrary temperature corresponding to the ambient temperature. Furthermore, the temperature declines in a short time, so that it must be designed to be disposable.
On the other hand, in the case of heating an electric heater by battery or other power source, when the apparatus is used in a cold district where the ambient temperature is low, it is hard to warm the body to a comfortable temperature. Thus, the power source must be extremely large in size for obtaining a necessary and sufficient heat quantity. Consequently, it is heavy and not easy to use, and it is far from practical to be worn on the body.
Or, in the case of using commercial power source as the power source for heating the electric heater, a power cord must be provided and connected to a commercial power outlet. Therefore, it cannot be used outdoors or in other areas where a power source is not available.
To solve so many practical problems, it has been proposed to warm the body by furnishing a jacket with a catalytic combustion heating device. According to this method, heating for a long time is possible only by refilling fuel gas, and a sufficient heat quantity is obtained if used in a cold district where a power source is not available, so that the body can be warmed to a comfortable temperature.
However, such catalytic combustion heating device is complicated in structure and heavy in weight. When the jacket is worn, its weight is applied on the shoulders through the jacket, and so it does no feel good to wear, and when worn for a long time or when moving the arms, loading is heavy and it is easy to fatigue. This problem becomes more obvious when the jacket is modified from the heavy winter clothes to a light and thin jacket.
It is a merit of the catalytic combustion heating device that the temperature can be adjusted and kept constant by controlling the feed rate of fuel gas. At this time, by feeding the fuel gas while the catalyst is within the catalytic combustion temperature, catalytic combustion can be continued. In other words, it is hard to control the temperature below the catalytic combustion temperature, and it is hard to warm the body at a comfortable temperature by controlling the catalytic combustion heating device at a low temperature depending on the ambient temperature.